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Aegon VI Targaryen
Aegon VI Targaryen, son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell, ruled as Lord of the Seven Kingdoms from the year 301 until his death in 335AC. He wed Sansa Stark of Winterfell, and led the realm through the Second War of Conquest, the Crisis of the Sparrow, the War of the Waters, and the War of the Lords Scorned. He is the progenitor of all current members of House Targaryen, and created House Targaryen of Harrenhal by landing his third son, Maekar. History The story of Aegon VI Targaryen is a long one, fraught with betrayal, murder, cruelty and vengeance. Much of the early days of his life can be found recounted here - this article will only cover that which is pertinent to our own ends. Second War of Conquest Unexpected by most, the Golden Company landed in the Stormlands in 300 AC, their army headed by a young man claiming to be the long-thought-dead son of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, Aegon. With the chaos of war already deeply rooted in Westeros, the Golden Company was quick to act. They take Griffin's Roost, Crow's Nest, and others, before setting out for Storm's End itself. Manipulating and deceiving the defending garrison, Aegon leads a successful assault of the castle, and wins it for his cause. With his arrival known and his intentions made clear, Aegon - and armies from Dorne, Oldtown and various other minor lands - marches north on King's Landing. Encamped outside the city's walls, Aegon manages to win the support of Randyll Tarly and his host. Gaining access to the city itself, but not the Red Keep, Aegon besieges the castle atop Aegon's Hill. After a few brief months, the siege ends when a young Tyrek Lannister is found by Varys, King Tommen dies of an infected wound, and Queen Cersei cedes the castle to the besieging forces. In the first moon of the year 301 AC, Aegon is crowned Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. Having won his crown and his throne, Aegon sets out to win his kingdoms. Aegon sent Harry Strickland and half of his armies to secure the Riverlands and empower Edmure Tully once more, while Aegon himself marched alongside Jon Connington to the Reach to relieve House Tyrell against the Ironborn Threat. Aegon and Jon would find success in the Reach thanks to the timely arrival of Randyll Tarly and Franklyn Fowler, although Harry Strickland would find himself tied up in the Riverlands, failing to take control of Riverrun away from Black Walder Frey whom had achieved victory in the Bleeding of the Twins. War of the Dragons With victory in the Riverlands and the Reach, Aegon had united most of the southern half of Westeros. However, his aunt soon arrived with an army of her own, and a dragon. Winter was coming to an end, and the presence of a dragon brought many lords to Daenerys Targaryen's side, forming a sizable army in Crackclaw Point. Refusing to wed her nephew, Daenerys instead chose to denounce Aegon as a false dragon, claiming the throne hers and hers alone, by right. With the aid of Victarion Greyjoy and the Iron Fleet, the invaders smashed the Royal Fleet and began to harry the coasts of the Stormlands, while the Mother of Dragons marched on the capital herself. Aegon marched north as quickly as he could, arriving in the Crownlands to find it relatively unharmed. Daenerys Targaryen had elected to not attack many of the keeps on her path, hoping to maintain the image of a 'savior queen' that Westeros needed. Instead, she had marched south to Dorne, on the news that the Martells were ready to ally with the true Queen. End of the Conquest Aegon returned to the Crownlands, and Varys revealed his hand. Edric Storm, the bastard son of Robert Baratheon, was under the control of the Spider, and through much persuasion, Aegon agreed to legitimize him and name him Lord Paramount of the Stormlands, so that a Baratheon might sit in Storm's End. In doing so, Aegon hoped to win the support of the Stormlands but he knew that he had a long way to go to securing the rebellious lands. Varys also revealed Sansa Stark, the daughter of Lord Eddard Stark and the key to the North's allegiance to Aegon. Originally intended to serve as the Lady of Winterfell, news of Rickon Stark's survival and the refusal of marriage of Daenerys Targaryen opened up a new avenue for the young Stark. Varys began grooming Sansa for life not as a Lady, but as a Queen. In Dorne, news of Daenerys Targaryen's untimely death in a fire reached the capital, and the last remnants of resistance to Aegon's rule began to fade away. Demands of fealty were sent to Pyke, Winterfell and the Eyrie, and each were agreed to by their respective rulers. Rickon Stark was seated at Winterfell, Harrold Arryn had succeeded the sickly Robert in the Vale, and Asha Greyjoy was named Lady of Pyke after the death of the Crow's-Eye. Aegon would then move into the Riverlands, defeating Black Walder Frey and placing House Tully back in Riverrun. By 303 AC, the Seven Kingdoms were united under Targaryen rule once more, and the Second War of Conquest was ended. War of the Waters Not long into Aegon's reign as Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, he found himself at war once more. Aurane Waters had established a pirate kingdom on the Stepstones, with himself as its king. For some time the pirates merely attacked vessels from the Free Cities, but before long, this aggression spread to Westerosi ships, and to the coasts of Dorne. King Aegon was left with no choice but to act. Gathering an army mostly from the Crownlands, and securing the use of the Redwyne Fleet from Lord Paxter Redwyne, Aegon set out for the Stepstones in 306 AC. Vastly outnumbered by the Redwyne Fleet, the pirate fleet was swiftly defeated in the seas, and an invasion of the islands themselves began. King Aegon landed on Bloodstone first, securing the largest and most populous island, while the Redwyne Fleet secured the others. Before long, Aurane Waters had fled to Torturer's Deep, and the King followed. Waters' men and ships surrendered without much of a fight after the initial invasion, and begging for mercy, Aurane Waters was taken prisoner and brought back to the capital for punishment, his kingdom dissolved in the process. Aegon had contemplated taking the Stepstones as his own, but fear of retaliation and aggression from the Free Cities, he ultimately deemed the decision unwise. Consulting the members of House Velaryon, Aegon brought Aurane Waters to the capital, and swiftly had the Pirate King put to the sword. The Narrow Sea was rid of the Pirate King and his ships, and the urgent need to reconstruct the great fleets of Westeros was made clear by the war. Crisis of the Sparrow In 308 AC, Aegon once again found himself at odds with an enemy, though this time the enemy came from within his own kingdoms - his own capital, no less. In the final years of the Second War of Conquest, and in the years that followed, the High Septon of the Faith - known as the High Sparrow to most - continued to grow in strength. When seven nobles were arrested in the streets of King's Landing in 308 - one of whom being Ser Dickon Cole, brother to the Commander of the City Watch, and an ex-member of the Golden Company - tensions reached a tipping point. Ser Dickon Cole was executed by the Faith Militant, and the ensuing outrage forced King Aegon's hand. After several more events, including the Fire of Flea Bottom, the King met with the High Sparrow to determine the future of the Faith Militant. The talks soured, and before the end of the year, the High Sparrow was openly denouncing the King in the streets of the capital. Enraged, Aegon had several dozen of the Faith Militant captured during the early morning hours, culminating in a battle that took place at the Great Sept of Baelor. The City Watch won the ensuing battle decisively, and Aegon himself entered the Great Sept to demand the surrender of the High Sparrow. Instead, he was greeted by an empty sept - the High Sparrow and the remnants of his faithful having seemingly fled in the chaos. In the aftermath, the Faith Militant was disbanded by the King, and a new High Septon was elected. Years of Peace Aegon's marriage to Sansa Stark had already proven fruitful in the first years of his reign, and by the end of the Crisis of the Sparrow, the King had four children - the Crown Prince, Rhaegar, twin daughters Rhaenys and Visenya, and Aemon, the fourthborn. In 310 AC, Sansa would give Aegon another son, Maekar, and a last in 314, whom they named Baelon. The decade that followed was relatively uneventful, with Aegon's rule being unchallenged for many years. In 318 AC, a civil war broke out in the Westerlands. The King remained neutral for a time, but as the war grew, it began to consume more of the Westerlands, and more and more men were dying for one lion or another. A year after the war's start, Aegon rode to the Westerlands to personally see to its end. Arriving at Castamere, Aegon took up position in the ruin, awaiting the arrival of the forces of Martyn Lannister. Aegon delivered his demands to Martyn - end the insurrection or be beheaded for treason - and the lion conceded. Martyn Lannister was sent to the Wall, and Tyrek Lannister's rule was reaffirmed. Aegon returned to the capital. The years that followed saw peace once more. Aegon's children came of age, with Rhaegar and Visenya being wed, as well as Rhaenys and Abelar Redwyne of the Arbor. Prince Aemon was wed as well to Saera Celtigar, while Maekar and Baelon remained too young to yet be wed. Save for the incident in the Westerlands, Westeros had seen near-total peace for over two decades, and all of that was brought to an end in the dying days of the 332nd year after Aegon's Conquest. Aegon would frequently come at odds with Harry Strickland, who was dismissed from the Small Council in 315 AC for embezzling funds. Due to his refusal to send soldiers during the War of the Waters, and for his antics during the Second War of Conquest, tensions were high between the pair. This in part with the response the former commanders of the Golden Company had received in The Riverlands, was the stepping stone to what would be a major conflict in Westeros. War of the Lords Scorned Harry Strickland, Lord of Harrenhal and the long-since-retired Captain-General of the Golden Company, died in the late months of 332 AC. Succeeded by his son, Mycah, Harry was to be honored by a grand tourney and celebration at Harrenhal in the new year. King Aegon, once indebted to Harry Strickland for his aid in taking the throne, was to be the chief guest. Instead, however, the King elected to remain in the capital, sending Prince Rhaegar in his stead. Insulted by this, and years of mistreatment by other lords, Mycah Strickland and a band of conspirators imprisoned Prince Rhaegar and a host of other guests in the early months of 333 AC. Rallying an army to their cause, they demanded equal rights, or the Crown Prince's life would be forfeit. King Aegon rallied an army of his own, though due to the nature of so many hostages being held by the rebels, the force was not what was expected. Aegon marched north with his army, while the Lords Scorned - as they came to be known - marched south. The Lords Scorned took various minor keeps before engaging with King Aegon at the Battle of the Horn, defeating the King and his host with relative ease. Aegon retreated south, splitting his forces between the various castles north of King's Landing - with a focused force at Duskendale - hoping to defeat the rebels in a war of attrition. Within months, Duskendale and the northern Crownlands fell, and the rebel army pressed south on the capital itself. However, news soon spread of the suspicious death of Prince Rhaeger, fueling the royal cause, and driving more swords to their side. Dismayed by the events, the Lords Scorned retreated north to the safety of Harrenhal, hoping to salvage what little of their rebellion remained. Aegon and his steadily-growing army followed close behind, relieving the many keeps taken by the rebels along the way. Betrayed by his own cousin, Lord Jason Bracken, Mycah Strickland was locked from Harrenhal and forced to flee with his men. In the late months of 333 AC, they were caught on the banks of the God's Eye, and were swiftly beaten in the field. Mycah Strickland and his chief conspirators were summarily executed, while many others were sent to the Wall, and others had hostages taken back to the capital to ensure cooperation. With the death of his eldest son, who himself had left only three daughters, Aemon was named Crown Prince and was given the seat of Dragonstone as his own. To ensure a rebellion of such a nature could not happen again, Aegon granted his third son, Maekar, the Lordship of Harrenhal, establishing House Targaryen of Harrenhal in the first days of 334 AC. Last Years Following the war, Aegon returned to the capital, bitter and weary from thirty years of rule, war and death. He remained in the capital, growing markedly older in his final years, though not being exorbitantly old in reality. In 335 AC, the King fell ill, an from that illness he would not recover. Dying in 335 AC, King Aegon's reign was overall remembered as a strong one - his word respected and his kindness remembered by all. Upon Aegon's death, his son Aemon was crowned King Aemon I, marking the beginning of the second kingship since the renewal of the Targaryen dynasty three decades earlier. Family * Prince Rhaegar Targaryen (259-283 AC) * m. Princess Elia Martell (257-283 AC) ** Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (280-283 AC) ** King Aegon VI Targaryen (283-335 AC) ** m. Queen Sansa Stark (286-338 AC) *** Prince Rhaegar Targaryen (304-333 AC) *** m. Princess Visenya Targaryen (305-335 AC) **** Line of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen *** Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (305-350 AC) *** m. Lord Abelar Redwyne (306-348 AC) **** Line of House Redwyne *** King Aemon I Targaryen (307-352 AC) *** m. Queen Saera Celtigar (307-348 AC) **** King Viserys III Targaryen (b. 327 AC) **** m. Queen Ashara Martell (322-346 AC) ***** Princess Jaehaera Targaryen (b. 343 AC) **** m. Queen Myrisa Rogare (b. 3XX AC) ***** Prince Aenys Targaryen (b. 374 AC) **** Prince Aegor Targaryen (b. 331 AC) **** m. Princess Daenys Targaryen (b. 336 AC) ***** Line of House Targaryen of Dragonstone **** Prince Baelor Targaryen (b. 333 AC) **** m. Princess Daena Targaryen (b. 329 AC) ***** Line of House Targaryen of Summerhall **** Prince Daeron Targaryen (b. 335 AC) **** m. Princess Jaehaera Targaryen (b. 343 AC) ***** Line of Princess Jaehaera Targaryen *** Prince Maekar Targaryen (310-342 AC) *** m. Princess Morganna Mooton (305-3338 AC) **** Line of House Targaryen of Harrenhal *** Prince Baelon Targaryen (314-349 AC) *** m. Princess Daenys Targaryen (322-349 AC) **** Line of Baelon Targaryen Category:House Targaryen